The analysis of fluid samples, for example clinical or environmental samples, may be conducted for several reasons. One current area of interest is the development of a method for positively identifying biological material in a fluid sample, for example a clinical or environmental sample. Such a method would allow for early diagnosis of disease states, which in turn would enable rapid treatment and infection control, or the identification of environmental contaminants and the like. There are many techniques by which very sensitive analysis of samples can be carried out including for example nucleic acid amplification techniques such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
However, the very sensitivity of these techniques mean that they are subject to problems with contamination, as even small amounts of contaminants can mask or give false positive results.
In general, the analysis of clinical or environmental samples is carried out in laboratories or in mobile equipment or analytical devices which may be some distance from the site of collection of the sample. This means that samples need to be collected for example by an operative, and placed in a sealed sample vessel for transport to the analytical device. Once delivered to the analytical device, for example, in a laboratory, the sample vessel is usually opened by a further operator, and the contents removed, for example using a pipette which may be carried out manually or by machine, and placed in a reaction chamber to allow analysis to occur. There is a greater risk that contamination may occur at this stage, in particular since a laboratory or analytical environment is most likely to be contaminated by the target analyte, for example the target nucleic acid.